The Cornell baseball team split a doubleheader against Harvard on March 29 at Booth Field, dropping the first game 2-1 before securing a 9-4 victory in the nightcap.
The results leave Cornell with a 4-14 overall record and a 2-4 mark in Ivy League play, while Harvard falls to 3-15 overall and matches Cornell’s conference record. The games featured contrasting styles: the opener was a close pitchers’ duel, while the second game saw an offensive surge from Cornell.
In game one, Harvard’s Jack Rickheim hit a two-out solo home run in the eighth inning to break a tie and secure the win for the Crimson. Gio Colasante earned the win for Harvard by allowing just one run over eight innings. Brett Gable recorded his second save of the year. For Cornell, junior left-hander Huxley Holcombe delivered his first quality start of the season with six strong innings and seven strikeouts. Freshman right-hander Ross Yoshida took the loss despite three solid innings of relief work. Sophomore catcher Mason Barela provided Cornell’s only run with his second home run of the season.
In game two, junior third baseman Luke Johnson led Cornell offensively by going 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and three runs scored. Johnson also stole three bases during the nightcap. The Big Red jumped out to an early lead with three runs in their half of the first inning and never trailed again. Junior right-hander Ethan Van Sice pitched six innings for his second collegiate start, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out four batters.
Harvard continues to lead the all-time series against Cornell but has now lost six of its last ten meetings against them. Notably, this marks consecutive seasons that Cornell has dropped its home opener for only the second time since doing so between 2008 and 2013.
Cornell will face Harvard again on Monday at Booth Field to decide their three-game series.
